Kendra Kerr
Toronto,ON
Summary
A dynamic results-driven leader with strong background in social impact strategy and inclusive organizational growth. I cultivate award-winning teams to deliver innovative social impact and corporate responsibility initiatives that align with business goals. I am adept at driving operational excellence and nurturing diverse, multi-sectorial projects that amplify impact and build organizational capacity. The diversity of my expertise allows me to be as comfortable pitching partnerships to multinational corporations, as I am working with grassroots organizations to grow their capacity, or collaborate with a municipality to deliver capital projects.
Overview
2025
2025
years of professional experience
Work History
Director, Community Investment & Social Impact
MLSE
2023 - Current
- Guide $15 million in corporate CSR and social impact with a focus on community trust-based grants, youth programs, capital projects and fan engagement initiatives, supporting youth facing barriers in communities across Ontario.
- Lead a knowledgeable, high-performing, and dynamic social impact team of 11, who specialize in developing collaborative and impactful community-centered initiatives on behalf of MLSE's brands.
- Cultivate a diverse portfolio of strategic partnerships focused on driving systemic change in key underserved communities in Ontario.
- Develop and steward credible, long-term relationships with donors and corporate providers, tying strong business ROI and brand affinity, with data-informed community impact outcomes.
- Represent MLSE externally through funder networks, industry conferences and at relevant sector tables.
- Spearhead innovative approaches to resource allocation and strategic planning, while effectively managing yearly budgets.
- Success Highlight: Oversaw the integration of MLSE's community relations department (corporate CSR) and MLSE Foundation, to drive integrated community approaches companywide, resulting in a 10% overachievement of season KPIs.
Manager, Partnerships & Projects
MLSE Foundation
2019 - 2023
- Oversaw $7M in collaborative trust-based granting relationships supporting MLSE's key impact communities.
- Managed volunteer recruitment and training processes, ensuring a consistent pool of dedicated volunteers for organizational needs.
- Lead strategic program development informed by detailed data analysis of participant demographics and outcomes.
- Assisted with development of organizational budgets and resource allocation plans.
- Lead the preparation of board and executive reporting.
- Developed a strong team culture focused on people-centered leadership, collaboration, and continuous learning opportunities for three(3) direct reports.
- Mentored junior team members for career advancement, fostering a pipeline of future leaders within the organization.
- Success Highlight: Developed the evolution of MLSE Foundation's granting framework. The initial $1M catalytic investment to the Foundation for Black Communities, allowed FFBC to leverage MLSE's support to secure more than $200M in corporate and government commitments.
DiverseCity Fellow
Civic Action
2020 - 2021
- Selected as one of 30 candidates for an award-winning one-year fellowship for diverse leaders in the GTHA, that provides mentorship, professional development and opportunities to create and execute projects that tackle pressing social, environmental, or economic issues in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
- Success Highlight: Leadership group founded 'Fess Up: Confessions of a Leader who Misstepped', a campaign that aims to empower industry leaders to own their mistakes and collectively commit to failing forward.
Community Investment Officer
MLSE Foundation
2016 - 2019
- Supported overall administration and adjudication of core granting programs ensuring regulatory compliance and timely distribution of funds to successful applicants.
- Oversaw MLSE Foundation's migration to digital granting infrastructure, resulting in a 40% increase in organizational applications, improved processing efficiency and deeper ability to analyze key intersectional data.
- Evaluated program outcomes to assess impact, providing valuable feedback for future grant applications and program improvements.
- Collaborated with program staff to develop project budgets, ensuring alignment with grant guidelines and requirements.
- Coordinated site visits for donors to showcase ongoing initiatives successfully implemented using their funds.
- Ensured compliance with donor guidelines, minimizing errors in reporting and enhancing the organization''s reputation.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop robust monitoring and evaluation plans that accurately measured project impact.
- Success Highlight: Developed and implemented MLSE Foundation's first culturally relevant, 'Indigenous Communities Strategy', investing more than $2M+ in Indigenous organizations since 2018.
Coordinator, Community Development
MLSE Foundation
2014 - 2016
- Championed MLSE Foundation's 'Community Space' portfolio, project managing capital projects to increase access to quality sport spaces across Ontario.
- Stewarded an active granting program with more than 60 community partners by collaborating with external organizations on joint initiatives, maximizing impact through shared resources and expertise.
- Lead the execution of MLSE's community programs impacting more than 3000 youth across Ontario.
- Developed, pitched and implemented MLSE Foundation's gender-based programming strategy, increasing access of girls in signature programs by 50%.
- Key success: Supported and launched the $2.5M Regent Park Athletic Grounds Space and accompanying $1M granting consortium in 2016.
Coordinator, Youth To Youth Program
Right to Play
2011 - 2014
- Oversaw 31 consecutive, ongoing peer-to-peer mentorship partnerships with an annual reach of 6000 participants from multi-barriered neighbourhoods across Toronto
- Drove strong data-informed approaches by developing evaluation frameworks, implementing extensive data collection and analyzing outcomes, to ensure efficacy of the program framework
- Lead the collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO), and the Toronto District School Board to drive cross-sector collaboration and program success
- Oversaw and coordinated a 20-person Program Advisory Board of diverse stakeholders
- Hired, managed, developed and trained hourly and volunteer staff
- Collaborated with department heads to develop strategic plans aligning with Right To Play's overall objectives, fostering a unified approach toward shared goals worldwide
- Success Highlight: Created and implemented a 25% program expansion, using newly developed participatory evaluation frameworks, additionally driving greater outcomes for school-aged youth.
Research Assistant
Centre For Urban Schooling (O.I.S.E)
2011 - 2011
- Determined research goals to assist in the preparation and achievement of published curriculum resources focused on anti-racist/anti-oppression pedagogies.
- Collected data through complex research methodologies and structured interviews.
- Scheduled, organized, and reported on the status of research activities.
- Contributed to the publication of research articles in peer-reviewed journals, showcasing expertise in various topics.
- Success Highlight: Contributed to the publication of CES's "Equity Continum: Action for Critical Transformation In Schools" , a resource for school to measure how inclusive their school cultures are.
Project Administrator- Social Housing Retrofit
DEL Management Solutions Inc.
2008 - 2010
- Supported the 'Social Housing Refurbishment and Retrofit Portfolio'.
- Assisted the Project Manager in the drafting and issuance of project proposals, RFPs, tenders, budgets, cash flows and preliminary schedules.
- Tracked work quality, progress, and budgets liaising regularly with residents and contractors.
- Prepared and issued contracts, letters of intent, generated purchase orders and maintained tracking logs.
- Assisted in the review of contractor quotations, change notices/orders, prepared substantial completion certifications, while keeping the Project Manager informed on project status
- Success Highlight: Developed and implemented key process improvements that increased tenant-landlord communication, leading to more efficient execution of retrofits.
Education
Schulich ExecEd- Project Management
Toronto, ON01-2017
George Brown College- Writing Funding Proposals
Toronto, ON01-2013
University of Toronto- Aboriginal Worldviews
Toronto, ON01-2012
Bachelor of Education-Urban Education- J/I -
O.I.S.E At University of Toronto
Toronto, ON01-2011
Bachelor of Arts - Canadian Politics, International Relations, Canadian History
Queen's University
Toronto, ON01-2010
Skills
- Strategic Planning & Innovation
- Board Management & Executive Reporting
- Corporate Social Responsibility, Grantmaking & Sponsorships
- Corporate Brand-Building & Marketing
- Operations Management & Risk Management
- Community Engagement & Stakeholder Relations
- Budget Management & Financial Oversight
- Anti-racism/Anti-Oppression Pedagogies
- Budget Management & Financial Oversight
- Anti-racism/Anti-Oppression Pedagogies
Languages
English
Native or Bilingual
Spanish
Professional Working
Timeline
Director, Community Investment & Social Impact
MLSE
2023 - Current
Manager, Partnerships & Projects
MLSE Foundation
2019 - 2023
DiverseCity Fellow
Civic Action
2020 - 2021
Community Investment Officer
MLSE Foundation
2016 - 2019
Coordinator, Community Development
MLSE Foundation
2014 - 2016
Coordinator, Youth To Youth Program
Right to Play
2011 - 2014
Research Assistant
Centre For Urban Schooling (O.I.S.E)
2011 - 2011
Project Administrator- Social Housing Retrofit
DEL Management Solutions Inc.
2008 - 2010
Schulich ExecEd- Project Management
George Brown College- Writing Funding Proposals
University of Toronto- Aboriginal Worldviews
Bachelor of Education-Urban Education- J/I -
O.I.S.E At University of Toronto
Bachelor of Arts - Canadian Politics, International Relations, Canadian History
Queen's University
Awards
- CSLA : Award of Excellence, ERA x Toronto Raptors for Sheguiandah FN Community Court (2024)
- NBA Inclusive Leadership Award, Toronto Raptors x Community Court Project (2022)
- NBA Inclusion & Innovation Award, MLSE Women's Leadership Forum x MLSE LaunchPad (2018)
- City of Toronto, Toronto Sport Hall of Honour, Corporate Builder Award (2018)
- City of Mississauga, Corporate Builder Award, Ridgeway Community Court Project (2017)
- Beyond Sport, Sport for Sustainable Cities & Communities Award, MLSE Foundation x Regent Park Athletic Grounds (2017)
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Sports Award, MLSE Foundation (2016)
- Parks and Recreation Ontario, CPRA Partnership Award, City of Toronto Partnership (2015)
Volunteer Experience
North York Community House: Chair of the Board of Directors, 2018-2022
Awards
- CSLA : Award of Excellence, ERA x Toronto Raptors for Sheguiandah FN Community Court (2024)
- NBA Inclusive Leadership Award, Toronto Raptors x Community Court Project (2022)
- NBA Inclusion & Innovation Award, MLSE Women's Leadership Forum x MLSE LaunchPad (2018)
- City of Toronto, Toronto Sport Hall of Honour, Corporate Builder Award (2018)
- City of Mississauga, Corporate Builder Award, Ridgeway Community Court Project (2017)
- Beyond Sport, Sport for Sustainable Cities & Communities Award, MLSE Foundation x Regent Park Athletic Grounds (2017)
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Sports Award, MLSE Foundation (2016)
- Parks and Recreation Ontario, CPRA Partnership Award, City of Toronto Partnership (2015)
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